Elderly Aussies ‘targeted in euthanasia drug raids’, Dr Nitschke claims

A leading right-to-die campaigner has claimed police are raiding elderly Australians’ homes in a search for illegal euthanasia drugs.

Philip Nitschke, also dubbed Dr Death, said many of his Exit International group members have been targeted by police in the past two weeks as they worked to crack down on the amount of illegal death drugs being brought into the country.

The 71-year-old, who is in the Gold Coast to host a Disrupting Death workshop on assisted dying and voluntary euthanasia, explained police are apparently looking for imported drugs which are used to end life.

“The raids are designed to frighten and intimidate those who want control at the end of their life,” Nitschke said in a statement. “It is another example of the futile and foolish war on drugs policy pursued by the Australian government.”

Read more: ‘Dr Death’ Philip Nitschke tells what really happens in suicide clinics

Also speaking to ABC Radio about the matter, Dr Death claimed police are describing them as “wellness checks” and want to ensure Australians aren’t putting themselves in harms way. However, Nitschke said it is only increasing the stress levels of the elderly who are already in terrible conditions.

“Police… are saying ‘we have found out, usually from some interception of email traffic, that you’ve done this, and we want you to hand over the drugs’,” he explained to the program, according to 7 News.

He added: “We see elderly people getting these drugs, they stop worrying about end-of-life choices, and they actually live longer.

Read more: Woman reveals grandad’s ‘torture’ as he makes deathbed plea for assisted dying law

“To implement some rather foolish policy of trying to run around and intercept and confiscate these drugs does nothing more than increase the level of anxiety, and concern and distress amongst these people.”

The raids are allegedly happening worldwide with one overseas Exit International member claiming two officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police turned up at their home recently asking if they had any of the drugs.

“They told they were here because U.S. Homeland Security in cooperation with the US Postal Service had reported to them that a bottle of Nembutal had been sent to my address by someone they have been tracking, who has been sending this drug all over the world,” they said in a statement.

Read more: As Victoria legalises voluntary assisted dying, will other states follow suit?

“They showed me a colour photo of the exact bottle and asked me if I knew anything about it. I repeated that with all due respect, I was not comfortable answering their questions.”

NSW Police confirmed to The Australian that they had not conducted any raids relating to euthanasia drugs, while Queensland Police said they couldn’t comment on the matter.

Dr Death’s comments follow news earlier this week that the first terminally ill patient has been granted permission to end their life in Australia using prescribed medication, just weeks after voluntary assisted dying was legalised in the state of Victoria.

Read more: Victoria approves first legal assisted suicide following historic law change

A permit has reportedly been provided to one person, who remains unnamed, to undergo a medically assisted death, giving them the right to use a cocktail of approved drugs to end their life, the ABC reports.

No further details of the patient’s age or condition have been revealed with the Department of Health and Human Services simply confirming that the new model is working.

“The Victorian model for the voluntary assisted dying system is working,” a spokesperson said. “We know that doctors are talking to patients about voluntary assisted dying and are carrying out assessments.

Do you think terminally ill people should have the right to end their life, or do you disagree with voluntary assisted dying?